Part 6 of Mega-Query: Paint, N-S Wood Loading and Ash Pans

[TruePatriot]

Part 6 of Mega-Query: Paint, N-S Wood Loading and Ash Pans

Hi all,

The above subhead lists the topics in this section of My Mega-Query: Which Woodstove to Get? series.

Please see this link for the specifications of the house, etc…, should you need to clarify something to answer the following questions. https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/6812/ Thanks.


Painted (non-black colored) Steel Stoves—A Headache?

The Country Canyon ST310’s brochure says the following about paint:

"Your Country Stove may be painted in a variety of
colors with high-temperature stove paint to fit any
decor. Ask your dealer for details."


I must say, I’m a little nervous about this. Per the factory, there is black paint on the stoves to begin with, but I didn’t yet get to ask if that’s also just a spray-bombing raid, or some more permanent process.

The factory does not do the color (non-black) painting. Apparently the dealer does it. My fear is that the dealer will not be as anal as I would in removing finger oils, etc…, and the paint will peel in a season or two. I’m imagining how the stove will look in a couple of seasons—like a blue zebra or a blue leopard, with the black coming through?

I’m assuming blue (or any of the three colors offered) would be more difficult to keep looking nice than black, because if the black comes off, it probably wouldn’t be that noticeable.

Has anyone had any experience with non-black stove paint?

Has anyone had any experience painting a Quadra-Fire, Country, Lopi or ?

Again, though I’ve asked it elsewhere, is anyone aware of a steel, enameled stove, other than the Napolean or P.E., that is in this (large) size class?

North-South (N-S) Wood Loading
Despite Quadra-fire’s awkward wording, where they describe such loading as “front-to-back” (which to me connotes an East-West or parallel-to-the-stove’s-width orientation) I understand that they mean you can put the wood in perpendicular to the width of the stove, or N-S, as I’ve seen it referred to here.

This seems to have three advantages to me:
a) any falling logs (from over-full stacking for an overnight burn) will fall to the sides of the stove, as opposed to into the glass.

b) most stoves have a large amount of air coming in low, at the front, to “air wash” the glass, right? This would seem to feed oxygen equally to all the splits/rounds at once, in a N-S orientation, as opposed to feeding air to just the front or first log, in an E-W orientation.

c) If b), above, is correct, could this more even distribution of the air actually reduce the overnight burn duration significantly, such that I make my maximum burn too short to go all night?

d) As noted in the Quadra-fire literature, based on a), above, you can “toss the wood in”, without fear of it bouncing against the glass, making for easier loading and less bending-over time.

e) The Quad 5700 will accept a 24” log, per the brochure, presumably in an E-W loading orientation. But what will it accept, in an N-S loading? Could someone measure the depth of their firebox? (Please make that the “usable depth,” as there may be obstructions near the door which prohibit a full-length log from laying in there.

I know at least one person here is doing N-S loading in a P.E. Summit, and my friend Harry does it in his Hearthstone Mansfield.

Could owners of any of the stoves below supply the internal measurements for how long a log you can “toss” in, in a N-S loading orientation?

Country Canyon ST310
Lopi Liberty
Quadra-fire 5700
Napolean 1900
P.E. Summit “Classic”


Ash Removal—Are Ash Pans “Worth It?”
This feature is not a “deal breaker” for me, either way, so for those short on time, please skip to another section. I’m more curious here than concerned.

I’m only considering stoves with pedestal options, largely for aesthetic reasons, and because a few inches higher is a few less inches to bend over for loading and cleaning. In all but the Liberty Lopi’s case, the pedestal can accept an optional ash pan.

Almost everyone I’ve talked to doesn’t even use the ash pans when they have them, saying they’re either too difficult to fill or too small to mess with. My friend with the Mansfield just shovels it out, having disliked the ash pan after one use. Originally, I was thinking an ash pan was important, as I detest shoveling the ashes out of my “box of death” at the cottage, because it has a sand layer at the bottom, and it sucks trying to scoop the ash and leave the sand.

But the Lopi Liberty, as I say, doesn’t even have the ash pan as an option, (in pedestal configuration) and some of the stoves require you to remove a plug from the floor of the firebox, to fill the pan, as opposed to just opening a trap door, and that seems like a P.I.T.A. at best, dealing with a hot ash plug, if your are trying to remove ashes “on the fly” without letting the stove cool.

Thoughts on ash pans, anyone?

Thanks again,

Peter
>

 

[restorer]

Well Peter, I'll tackle the paint question. Don't rely on your stove dealerto do your paint/repaint. If you want a great job take it to a custom auto shop and have them do it in your choice of High Temp engine paints.

Best color according to the PE owners is WHORE HOUSE RED. Over the last few weeks I've been noticing the condition of my pellet stove and am thinking it would look real cool in verde gre bronze. I have a great paint house that can do anything I want. Well, close, couldn't do a black over red in a high gloss in a two coat only.

If you have painted an auto, or know the clean requirements you can paint the stove. Need a gun, compressor or turbine depending on system and lots of paper and masking. Great weekend project I would say.

To all the PE reddies, the Jamestown will never be red. And that's a fact Jack.

 

[Gunner]

You cannot get the summit classic with a pedistal, only legs.

 

[Roospike]

Ash pan clean out system work great on the Pacific Energy stoves.
http://invite.filmloop.com/x?BSZNCppQu-/BwhZTKqKJkmn4Tw4Lsq3R

If you would like a taller stove buid you a raised hearth. 4"-6" is a good height . Mine is raised just over 4 3/4" and is a small hearth overall and it works awesome.
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a97/Roospike/FOURM/P.jpg

 

[Hogwildz]

Well Peter, I'll tackle the paint question. Don't rely on your stove dealerto do your paint/repaint. If you want a great job take it to a custom auto shop and have them do it in your choice of High Temp engine paints.

Best color according to the PE owners is WHORE HOUSE RED. Over the last few weeks I've been noticing the condition of my pellet stove and am thinking it would look real cool in verde gre bronze. I have a great paint house that can do anything I want. Well, close, couldn't do a black over red in a high gloss in a two coat only.

If you have painted an auto, or know the clean requirements you can paint the stove. Need a gun, compressor or turbine depending on system and lots of paper and masking. Great weekend project I would say.

To all the PE reddies, the Jamestown will never be red. And that's a fact Jack.

Mines "P.E. Metallic black" and I love it!

 

[RonB]

Hey Peter, I'll go for the length of log in the 5700. I've studied and seen the stove in a showroom. Will purchase one shortly ( or maybe the step top 4300). You can easily put a 24" log in the Quad. Probably longer but who wants to lift one that heavy? Loading front to back is the same as North to South it's just another way of explaining it. The 4300 and 5700 are narrow in width and long in depth that facilitates NS loading. I currently load that way now and that is one criteria I looked for in a replacement new stove.

By the way, you're killing yourself by over studying this stove thing. I see some of myself in you! Any of the stoves you have listed will probably do want you want them to--warm you up. And in one of your prior posts you said you know there isn't a perfect stove. So get your answers and buy and enjoy with no buyers remorse. Sometimes the shopping before buying is as much fun as the purchase. After all, you won't do this one again for about 20 years.

 

[Gunner]

If you a stove that looks the same 20yrs from now with no maintainence get the porcelain enamel

FYI summits do not like to be loaded E/W and will refuse to take out the garbage and walk the dog if you try to load in that manner ;-P

 

[colsmith]

You mention not wanting to bend over to work with your stove, and wanting one on a pedestal. Instead of a taller stove, why not raise up the hearth? Is your hearth already existing in conjuction with the fireplace whose chimney you are planning to use, or will you build one? If so, consider building it up on some kind of framework. Our hearth is about 30" tall, so our stove is very conveniently located for putting wood in and fire viewing. We store wood underneath it. You can see a few photos at https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/6351/

Ash pans - we have one, for some reason don't use it. Hubby has rejected it, and I am just believing him that it is too small/ineffective or whatever, I haven't really tried it out. We just scoop around the coals when it cools down a bit, and aim for cleaning it out at times when we have been away from home for a long stretch. I clean the ashes out as much as hubby does, so I am not even sure why I haven't made an effort to try to make use of our ash pan. (Sometimes I believe him about things for no apparent reason.)

 

[TruePatriot]

UncleRich:

Thank you for tackling the paint question, and reassuring me that my "shade tree" autopainting skills are still probably better than what the dlr. would bring to bear. I wouldn't paint your 'Vette, but I used to paint heavy equipment so I have some level of expertise, I 'spose. I know enough to know that preparation is 9/10ths of success, and usually, most folks don't do enough of it--LOL.
>.

Gunner:

Re: this:

You cannot get the summit classic with a pedistal, only legs.

You are correct, unless (per my conversation with the nice factory lady) you are willing to accept an enameled stove with a black-painted pedestal. And I'm good with that, goofy as it may seem to others.


Re: this:

If you a stove that looks the same 20yrs from now with no maintainence get the porcelain enamel

Man, I know! LOL Believe me, if Quad or Country sold their stoves in some boss, acquamarine or teal enamel, you wouldn't be reading this now--you'd be looking at my "Whorehouse Teal Quad (or Canyon)"! And I do know that Quad offers a kind of teal-ish, blue spraybomb job, done by the dealer. Just not sure how cool that would look in a couple of years.

I guess it would depend on if it pealed off in strips (Blue Zebra?) or spots (Blue Leopard?). Thoughts on painting a light color over the factory black paint, anyone??? Anyone???? LOL

Re: this:

FYI summits do not like to be loaded E/W and will refuse to take out the garbage and walk the dog if you try to load in that manner ;-)

This is interesting to me--in my mind, it makes sense to me that N-S loading would make for a more even burn. Is this correct? (I'm thinking this is so because the air would contact the ends of ALL the splits, equally, as opposed to hitting the first piece in an E-W load, which could then block the airwash flow from hitting the pieces behind it?)

So...that leads me to wonder if people have noticed which type of loading gives a longer, overnight burn--N-S or E-W? Because I would think the N-S load would burn faster, which would not be a good thing....

Or maybe N-S loading does make for a faster burn, but the P.E. still does a long overnight burn because of it's thermostatically-controlled EBT? (I know, I'm asking for it here....)

And Gunner (or anyone)? Why else do you say the P.E.'s prefer the N-S loading? Again, N-S loading appeals to me for these reasons:

a) If there is a "tumble" from an over-stuffed loading, in N-S configuration, the wood falls against the sides of the stove, rather than against ceramic glass. (I know the glass is supertough, but I have this vision of me overloading the stove, not being home, and having the would tumble and break the glass in an E-W configuration.) And if this isn't a concern, why does the Harman Exception have built-in, "mini-andirons" in their stoves, to protect the glass? See them here: http://www.harmanstoves.com/callouts.asp?id=9 (And if memory serves, they are mounted in the firebox, not the door, so that you have to lift/maneuver the wood around them--sounds like fried/skinned-knuckle fun, no?)

b) Having each piece of the wood get air equally, in the N-S configuration, seems like it would ensure a more efficient, complete combustion.

c) As I said in my original post (above), when loading N-S, Quad's literature actually suggests you can "toss" the wood in, and not worry if it bangs around a little, as it will settle against the steel sides (or firebrick?) harming nothing.

Thoughts on N-S vs. E-W, anyone?
>

RonB:

Re N-S loading:

I currently load that way now and that is one criteria I looked for in a replacement new stove.

Why do you prefer the N-S loading? For the same a,b and c reasons (above) that I think that it would be preferable?

And re: this:

By the way, you’re killing yourself by over studying this stove thing. I see some of myself in you! Any of the stoves you have listed will probably do want you want them to--warm you up. And in one of your prior posts you said you know there isn’t a perfect stove. So get your answers and buy and enjoy with no buyers remorse. Sometimes the shopping before buying is as much fun as the purchase. After all, you won’t do this one again for about 20 years.

You seem like a reasonable guy, so I'm glad you see some of youreself in me. ;-) And your advice about not having any buyer's remorse is definitely good advice. Of course, in Marketing class we called buyer's remorse "cognitive dissonance," (the clinical term? I dunno...) and I have to add that, because I'm essentially married to that marketing professor, and she wants me to get the effing stove already! LOL

But I must hold your feet to the fire (pun intended) on something, good naturedly, of course: I'm not

...killing [my]self by over studying this stove thing...

for the very reason you list:

Sometimes the shopping before buying is as much fun as the purchase. After all, you won’t do this one again for about 20 years.

One man's poison is another man's passion. I like knowledge, and there's a ton of it here--I'm just culling the assembled braintrust, my brotha--it's all good! Thank you for your warm comments. (Seriously--no pun this time.)

And I do look forward to your thoughs on on on N-S loading, as you seem to be one of the few, not counting Gunner, that is rather into it, as I am.

 

[TruePatriot]

Roo:

Re: this:

Ash pan clean out system work great on the Pacific Energy stoves.
http://invite.filmloop.com/x?BSZNCppQu-/BwhZTKqKJkmn4Tw4Lsq3R

I really enjoyed your picto-tutorial--I wonder if P.E. has anything that well-done for their training/sales materials? Maybe you should shop it to them--seriously!

And re this:

If you would like a taller stove build you a raised hearth. 4"-6" is a good height . Mine is raised just over 4 3/4” and is a small hearth overall and it works awesome.

Yes, I had actually considered welding up a raised hearth, like out of steel plate, but in the same pentagonal shape as those prefabbed hearth pads, on, say, 24" high legs? And then I wondered if this would make a "cold zone" from the knees down, in the room, say with 8-10' ceilings? Anyone? I'm gonna ask Marcia this same question, seeing as how her hearth is even higher than yours. Which, btw, looks great, Roo--nice pics!



Marcia:

Re: this:

You mention not wanting to bend over to work with your stove, and wanting one on a pedestal. Instead of a taller stove, why not raise up the hearth? Is your hearth already existing in conjuction with the fireplace whose chimney you are planning to use, or will you build one? If so, consider building it up on some kind of framework. Our hearth is about 30” tall, so our stove is very conveniently located for putting wood in and fire viewing. We store wood underneath it. You can see a few photos at https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/6351/

Your hearth is awesome--30" high--wow! And I thought I dreamed big!

I really like that bullnose molding or whatever you did with the edges, too--you must be very proud!

Did you have any experience with tiling, prior to that?

How long did the tile work take you?

Could you give me a rough idea of the cost of the materials? Those intricate, beautiful tiles look very expensive, to my untrained eye....

Now, about the height--do you find that that leads to cold knees/ankles/feet? I'm actually serious, because I'd like to do a raised hearth as well, but we wondered whether it would make for a cold lower part of the room--we have 8-10;' high ceilings.

How high are your ceilings?

Do you have ceiling fans? (We don't.)

I had envisioned a simple raised hearth, made out of two steel plates, welded up with square tube stock, at four corners, the plates being cut in a pentagonal shape and size identical to the prefabbed "hearth pads" sold by dlrs. I was thinking of at least 24" in height, for the raised hearth. But to begin with, I'd just get one of those prefabbed jobs, and put it on the floor.

Which brings me to a general question: a dlr. told me those prefabbed, tiled hearth pads are "not to code because they have a chipboard backing." The ones he had did appear to have some masonite-style fiber product as a backing.

Was this dlr. crazy, or onto something? Are any of those "hearth pads" truly "to code?" What's a good brand? (I'm not really asking you this question, personally, as I know you built your own--I'm kind of hijacking my own thread here--).

Marcia, to answer your question about our existing "hearth": we essentially have no hearth. The boring, modern-brick fireplace is approx. 6' wide, and intrudes only 18" onto our wood floor. This last 18" is covered in tile, bordered by a small piece of oak molding--the tile is flush with the floor. My thought was to pry up the molding, pretend the tile wasn't there, and treat the whole floor as combusible, and go from there, with an approved hearth pad to start with, then later possibly the raised hearth. Then the dlr told me I couldn't buy a "safe" hearthpad.

So right now? I have no plan.... And I wouldn't build the raised hearth until I built some welding jigs and found a deal on some 1/4"+ steel plate, as steel is so expensive. So I need some type of prefabbed hearth pad, if such is safe. Any brand recommendations, anyone?

Re: the bolded text of this:

Ash pans - we have one, for some reason don’t use it. Hubby has rejected it, and I am just believing him that it is too small/ineffective or whatever, I haven’t really tried it out. We just scoop around the coals when it cools down a bit, and aim for cleaning it out at times when we have been away from home for a long stretch. I clean the ashes out as much as hubby does, so I am not even sure why I haven’t made an effort to try to make use of our ash pan. (Sometimes I believe him about things for no apparent reason.)

Well, aren't we talking about matters of blind faith, and marriage, here, Marcia? LOL And I'll be the first to admit that I don't know jack about either, so if it's all the same, I'm gonna just tiptoe slowly back from the brink on this one....LOL. But I really do appreciate your feedback on the raised hearth, and I'm eager to hear what you have to say about my raised-hearth (and cold feet?) questions, as my g.f. thinks it's just another of my "crazy schemes". I'm definitely gonna show her the pic of your beautiful, raised hearth!

Thanks again,

Peter

 

[Gunner]

This is interesting to me--in my mind, it makes sense to me that N-S loading would make for a more even burn. Is this correct? (I’m thinking this is so because the air would contact the ends of ALL the splits, equally, as opposed to hitting the first piece in an E-W load, which could then block the airwash flow from hitting the pieces behind it?)

So...that leads me to wonder if people have noticed which type of loading gives a longer, overnight burn--N-S or E-W? Because I would think the N-S load would burn faster, which would not be a good thing....

Or maybe N-S loading does make for a faster burn, but the P.E. still does a long overnight burn because of it’s thermostatically-controlled EBT? (I know, I’m asking for it here....)

Yes, I think N/S gives a more even burn...also a little cleaner, in my stove anyway

I have never tried an E/W overnight burn but I believe an "overnight burn" is considered 8hrs and any of the stoves you are considering are more than capable of that.

It is only speculation at this point but I have a feeling that the reason the PE's like to be burnt N/S, the reason for the EBT in the Summit, and the "magical" burn times is that the primary air is allowed to be closed a little bit more than in other stoves.

 

[elkimmeg]

N/s Vs E/W Depends on the way the stove burns in a horizonatl burning e/w is the way to go T Stoves that have rear secondary combustion chambers
Usually top loaders stoves that have top burn tube and enought depth SS works g quite well Many E/W stoves have andirons to prevent accidental rolling int he glass

so to answer your question one method or size does not fit all

 

[TruePatriot]

Could owners of any of the stoves below supply the internal measurements for how long a log you load, in a N-S loading orientation, for these stoves:

Quad 5700 (RonB said it would take a 24" log, but I wasn't sure if he meant N-S or not).
P.E. Summit "Classic"
Country Canyon ST310
Napolean 1900

(The Lopi Liberty was approx. 14.5" in a N-S configuration. Big stove [3.1 cu.ft.] but very shallow, and wide, by comparison to some. It can take 24" E-W.)

But please wait until your stoves are cool for cleaning or something--I don't want you to cook your fingers or your measuring tape--LoL

Gunner:

Re:

It is only speculation at this point but I have a feeling that the reason the PE’s like to be burnt N/S, the reason for the EBT in the Summit, and the “magical” burn times is that the primary air is allowed to be closed a little bit more than in other stoves.

Ah...but it is very interesting speculation--thank you. And since we're speculating, I can get, from your quote above, that you feel the EBT does play a role in a slightly longer primary combustion's burn time. (And I guess they wouldn't call it Extended Burn Time [EBT] for nothing right? I mean, they're Canadians, after all. I hate to say it but, having read P.E.'s literature, I found it more informative and well-written than most of the competitor's literature.... Just my .02)

Perhaps we can get others to speculate on this: here is this earlier question of mine (from my "Mega Query #5..."):

Thermo.-controlled Air Intake
As far as I know, of the stoves we’re looking at, only the P.E. has this feature (part of what they call their Extended Burn Technology or “EBT”). I must say the idea is very appealing to me. I like the fact that as fuel is consumed, the draft can automatically open itself, to accelerate the burn which would otherwise simply decrease. I could see how this could lead to more complete combustion and more smoothly-regulated output.

How important do folks feel this feature is?

Also, re: this feature on the P.E. Summit, I understand that this thermo.-controlled draft is only for the secondary burn. So…what is the practical effect of having only the secondary burn thermostatically-controlled? IOW, does this mean that it doesn’t actually provide a higher heat output in the primary burn, across the duration of an overnight loading, than a non-thermo.-controlled stove?

In other words, if I close my draft down too much for the wood I loaded, at night, will the P.E. be no better at consuming that fuel than would any of the non-thermostatically-controlled stoves? Or, will the thermostatically-controlled secondary burn draft actually maintain a higher primary burn rate so that, if the wood holds out, I might see flames in the morning, and not just coals?

What other steel stoves have a thermostatically controlled air intake (besides the formidable Blaze King)?

 

[Gunner]

18" N/S is the longest for the summit...you could put a 20" in there but it would be close to the glass and on top of the "boost manifold" This would be messy when openning the door as ash and coal could come out, also ash might restrict the air coming in.

If you want to load long splits the Quad is your best bet.

 

[RonB]

The Quad 5700 will handle a 24" length measured NS.

 

[colsmith]

I really like that bullnose molding or whatever you did with the edges, too--you must be very proud!
Did you have any experience with tiling, prior to that?
How long did the tile work take you?
Could you give me a rough idea of the cost of the materials? Those intricate, beautiful tiles look very expensive, to my untrained eye....
Now, about the height--do you find that that leads to cold knees/ankles/feet? I’m actually serious, because I’d like to do a raised hearth as well, but we wondered whether it would make for a cold lower part of the room--we have 8-10;’ high ceilings.
How high are your ceilings?
Do you have ceiling fans? (We don’t.)

Very proud, thank you. That sort of thing was not previously in my skill set.

No tiling experience at all. Watched a 20-30 minute 'how to tile' demo at a Menards (DIY store) once.

Hours and hours of time, but a lot of that was layout. We had some tiles from Turkey, did a rough outline, figured out how many more tiles we needed to fill in. Went to Mexico on a long trip (WI -> FL -> TX) and bought lots of tiles, and messed around with the layout a lot, since the tiles were of so many different sizes. If you buy tiles of one color and size it would go MUCH faster. I had 8", 6", 4.5" and 2" tiles, plus other small bits. We took photos once the design/layout was done. I took over the floor of the family room for the layout. The size of the hearth was based on wanting it to be slightly bigger than required, and going up to the nearest walls, plus how I had laid out the tiles. Turned out to be 48 inches deep and 58.5 inches across. Was going to be about an inch less wide, but in the final layout with spacers it grew somehow. Hubby didn't start cutting the long 2 x 4s for the frame until I was positive about the exact tile layout size. We made the hearth fit the tiles instead of the other way around. Saved a lot of tile cutting I suppose, but since ours had designs we wanted to avoid cutting them up. I did cut some plain tiles, for filling in certain areas between odd sized tiles, including a couple broken pieces we literally found on the street in Monterrey, Mexico. Bought a cheap tile cutter for a few bucks at Hobo, and an attachment for the Dremel roto zip type tool that cuts tile for maybe $15?

Our bullnose tiles cost about $1.30 each in Monterrey, but similar ones were about $4.50 at Menards. The colorful tiles are mainly from Turkey and Mexico, so the pricing is sort of moot. They were fairly cheap there, but what does it cost to travel there? Obviously you have to be meaning to visit anyway just because you enjoy travelling. We bought the tiles in Mexico for this purpose, just before building the hearth. The ones from Turkey we had on the shelf for 13 years, we bought them just because they were beautiful, we didn't have a purpose for them when we bought them. You should be able to find ceramic tiles on sale someplace cheap, but the bullnose ones are always pricey, and of course they won't be as lovely as my tiles.

Once the layout was done, we took photos. Then we built the hearth framework. Fortunately we had been given lots of 2 x 4s all the same length (about 27") so those were the many legs of the hearth. We bought lots of joist hangers and bracket-y things to strenghten all the wooden connections and the floor joists underneath, those were fairly cheap. Put down one thick hunk of plywood to hold up the (squishy) Micore 300 (which is for the R-value) then cement board on top for the tile base and because the Micore is not sturdy on its own. Plywood and cement board, each just under $10 I think, Micore was about $50. I think those all came in 4' x 8' size.

The mortar cost about $25 for a much larger bag than we needed, but it didn't come smaller for that kind. Everybody calls it thin set, but the label doesn't call it that. I spent a lot of time calling hubby and the tech support number of whatever company makes a lot of mortar for tiles, to be sure I had the right thing and it was suitable for the heat of a hearth. You need the powdered stuff, the premix is not as good. (I REALLY wanted to buy the premix, it came smaller and cheaper, and is easier and less messy to use.) The grout was maybe $20. A couple bucks for the spacers. It seems the quantities are designed for people doing whole walls and floors, so you get more than you need of that stuff. The mixing mortar and setting tiles was fairly quick (you have to or the mortar sets!), the grouting was maybe an hour or two the next day. We used the photos to be sure we put the tiles in the correct places. I will be sealing the grout this summer.

I always have cold feet in the winter, but don't attribute it to the height of the stove. Heat rises, but also sort of falls away from the hearth. Doesn't ever get warm UNDER the hearth, where we store about 3 days supply of wood, due to the insulating Micore, but in front and to the sides it gets warm enough. The stove is radiating in all possible directions along with the heat rising. Radiance, convection, and conduction, they all happen.

Our ceilings are 8 feet high. Hubby dislikes ceiling fans. In our pursuit of marital bliss, our numerous ceiling fans never go on. (When we lived in a very hot apt. in Puerto Rico I insisted on using the bedroom ceiling fan, since he hates air conditioning even more, but in WI one doesn't really need them, so I don't care.) We are fortunate that the heat from our stove distributes itself fairly well around the house (2 story.) Upstairs the door opened/door closed method of heat control works well.